Responding with grit in a challenging year
Responding with Grit in a Challenging Year
FY 2020-21 saw an unprecedented health crisis, huge economic disruption and repeated lockdowns around the globe. Our immediate priority was the safety of our people and being responsive to the needs of customers. We moved with agility to ensure business continuity. Employees were provided all necessary support to work from home and keep them engaged. Close collaboration was maintained with our customers for seamless business continuity and we kept a close eye on the safety of our employees. Providing the necessary aid to our communities was also one of the priorities.
No. of COVID related tests conducted
No. of vaccinations facilitated
ICU + Oxygen Beds COVID hospital set up for local communities
customer orders fulfilled even during a challenging operating environment
Looking after our PEOPLE
The safety and security of our employees and contractual workers has always been our foremost priority and has remained our key focus throughout COVID-19. All our locations have been operating with the highest attention to man and material safety. Stringent safety measures were introduced following the pandemic outbreak,
including regular sanitisation and adequate physical distancing at our workplaces and transportation, providing protective gear to employees, regulating entry through the Aarogya Setu App and with SpO2 and thermal screening, carrying out periodical testing for antibody and COVID-19 infections.
We have taken up the responsibility of vaccinating our employees and their spouses. We also expanded medical insurance coverage to include COVID-19 treatment, extended complimentary health check-up and provided multivitamins for all our employees.
Supporting our team practically and nurturing wellbeing have been the other important focus areas. For all eligible employees across all locations, timely annual increments, and performance incentives, bonuses and special financial incentives were also paid out despite the economic slowdown in the country. During the initial period of the nationwide lockdown, with alternating shift patterns, phase-wise resumption of operations, transport restrictions, and many people working from home, our digital solutions and interventions kept our teams connected and their morale high. Wellness session series was held online for employees and their families, along with imparting online training on a wide array of relevant subjects to help our employees cope up with the new normal.
Driving Engagement
Many of our customers are in industries manufacturing essential materials. Our aim has been to demonstrate that we stand by them no matter what, making every effort possible to ensure that their orders are fulfilled. During FY 2020-21, despite the challenges in the operating environment and our plants being shut down for first 35 days, we ensured 100% fulfilment of all customer order obligations. This was ensured by operating all plants at high capacity during the rest of the year while following all government safety mandate and maintaining continuous engagement with our customers. Our comprehensive business continuity plan and rigorous protocols to keep our employees and operations safe played a pivotal part in delivering on our customer commitments throughout the crisis. Our efforts reinforce our positioning as a reliable supply partner to our customers
We always endeavour to work in close partnership with our customers. To better understand their goals and needs, we continued to proactively engage with them via various communication channels, even during this difficult period. By paying close attention to what mattered to them and tackling the external challenges, we were able to respond with the right products and timely supplies.
Helping our Communities
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of our efforts have been directed towards supporting local communities. In partnership with Deepak Foundation, the Company has put up a 40-bed COVID-19 hospital with ICU and oxygen beds, purchased PSA-based oxygen plants, oxygen concentrators and ventilators at nearby facilities and has taken other appropriate measures.
Maintaining Business Continuity
Deepak entered FY 2020-21 from a position of strength operationally, financially and strategically. Maintaining continuity of business operations throughout the COVID-19 crisis, while keeping our people safe, has also been a vital part of our response. This included managing our supply chain to enable continuity of product delivery to our customers; responding with alacrity to the high demand for certain products; and ensuring optimal capacity utilisation. Demonstrating our nimble footedness, when domestic markets were down due to COVID-19, we resorted to aggressive export positioning to ensure maximum plant utilisation. Meanwhile, a rigorous focus on cost leadership and healthy capital structure helped maintain strong liquidity and a healthy cash flow and balance sheet.
Our breadth and depth of products and process competency has been fundamental in ensuring our business resilience. We continue to invest in our R&D, growing our product range, and operational excellence to drive continued strong performance.
